黑洞社区

When 黑洞社区 first visited Colombia in 2012, we were greeted, like all visitors to its largest airport, by a brooding concrete hulk that was built in the 1950s and was painfully out of date. Four years later, 黑洞社区 is back in Bogot谩, but has flown into the capital鈥檚 new El Dorado airport. An impressive building - voted the best airport in Latin America, as posters dotted around the place will tell you - it is a match for Heathrow Terminal 5, with its glittering facades and stunning steel and glass structures.

El Nuevo Dorado, to give the airport its Spanish name, is a sign of the progress Colombia is making. The country is one of Latin America鈥檚 fastest-growing and most open economies. GDP has grown by 4-5% annually for over a decade. While this is forecast to slow, it is still expected to grow by an average of 3.2% a year to 2030, according to Global Construction Perspectives. The country鈥檚 construction sector meanwhile is expected to expand by 4.2% a year over that period - almost doubling in value to $136bn (拢105bn), from $70bn (拢54bn) in 2014. And that鈥檚 before we start talking about the peace dividend that might fall to Colombia if this week鈥檚 deal between the government and the rebel group Farc is approved in October鈥檚 referendum (see box below).

Four years ago, Colombian officials and business leaders talked enthusiastically to 黑洞社区 about the wealth of opportunities available for British firms, particularly in the country鈥檚 buoyant infrastructure sector. They talked a good game. But has this actually materialised? Clearly a few Brits think so. Arup, Currie & Brown and McBains Cooper have all joined transport consultant Steer Davies Gleave (SDG) in opening offices in Bogot谩. Atkins has also picked up contracts here, while Gleeds is eyeing up the market from its newly launched Latin American outpost in neighbouring Ecuador.

What鈥檚 new to the picture is that the real estate market is proving just as attractive to firms as the traditionally strong infrastructure sector, driven in part by growing demand from Colombia鈥檚 burgeoning middle class.

So how are British firms taking advantage of Colombia鈥檚 bountiful opportunities? And how could you go about joining them?

Inviting infrastructure

Infrastructure opportunities have long attracted firms to Colombia. British transport planner SDG first set up shop in Bogot谩 in 1999 - before even US globetrotting giant Aecom arrived in the country. For SDG, winning a bid to design the initial phase of Bogot谩鈥檚 Transmilenio bus rapid transit system opened the door to the country. The firm now has a 50-strong office in the Colombian capital, its second largest after London.

鈥淭here are a lot of infrastructure projects, and there is a lot of investment from the government,鈥� says Germ谩n Lleras, a principal consultant at SDG responsible for all of its Latin American offices. 鈥淎lso, unlike some other countries, Colombia is friendly to international investment and to British firms who want to locate here.鈥�

Colombia鈥檚 president Juan Manuel Santos has long put a big emphasis on infrastructure spending. In 2011, he lit the blue touch paper on a 拢40bn, 10-year programme to upgrade the country鈥檚 congested four-lane highways network, improve railways and expand the ports. This was followed up last year by a further 拢55bn programme of investment for transport links to 2030.

Part of Santos鈥� plan involves revamping Colombia鈥檚 entire road network. His flagship 拢7.6bn 鈥�4G鈥� toll road programme aims to deliver 5,892km of new roads over the next seven years. As many taxi drivers in Bogot谩 will tell you, the country badly needs it. British firms are enjoying success on this 4G programme. SDG has won consultancy work on 95% of the 4G programme, while Arup - which started out in Colombia in 2007, but only set up an office two years ago - has also secured some work.

The 4G programme is a prime example of the country鈥檚 booming infrastructure sector. Other examples include major upgrades to the transport network in Bogot谩, with plans for a 拢2.3bn metro line - due to be operational by 2021 - and two new tramlines worth 拢1.2bn. There are also plans to invest 拢4bn in the country鈥檚 ports and 拢3bn in the water sector.

Growth

Evidence of Colombia鈥檚 economic growth can be seen on the streets of Bogot谩 - suited, middle class commuters pack the newly-built Transmilenio bus stations, on their way to jobs with big corporations in fancy office blocks situated in plush neighbourhoods like Chapinero or Usaqu茅n.

Bigger and better infrastructure powers the economy and helps grow the country鈥檚 middle class. It鈥檚 reflected in the increasing number of glittering residential towers popping up across the city. Low-cost housing is also a pressing challenge for the country, particularly in rural areas. The country鈥檚 housing deficit stands at 400,000 homes. Research from Spanish bank BBVA, which has a big presence across Colombia, suggests the housing deficit in cities like Bogot谩 and Medell铆n stands at around 8%, while in rural states like Choc贸, it鈥檚 a staggering 84%.The housing sector has been given presidential backing by Santos, who has an ambitious aim to halve the housing deficit within three years. His government recently handed over the last few hundred of 100,000 free homes built for the country鈥檚 poorest citizens, at a cost of 拢560m.

Residential is now the second largest construction sub-sector in Colombia, worth around 拢22bn a year. It is also where a lot of firms in the country, including the Brits, are turning their attention. 鈥淔or us, [infrastructure] is the main sector. It is the sector which opened up the opportunity to work here,鈥� says Juan Pablo Hoyos Trujillo, a director at McBains Cooper鈥檚 office in Bogot谩. 鈥淏ut now we are looking at the other big sector in Colombia, which is real estate.鈥�

With the scale of residential opportunities available, it鈥檚 clear to see why the likes of McBains Cooper are getting involved. Arup and SDG are also working in the sector. With so much demand, there鈥檚 got to be a chance for more British firms, right? 鈥淥h yes. It鈥檚 one of the main industries that drives the economy. It gets jobs for people,鈥� says Enrique Botero Ramirez, a Colombian architect who used to work in the UK for a practice called THiiiNK Design. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a big shortage in this country with both the quantity and quality of housing - in real estate there is a very big industry.鈥�

SDG鈥檚 Lleras agrees: 鈥淭here is a big investment in housing, not only in the private sector but also the government is developing free or low-cost housing all over the country. That鈥檚 a big area where we are looking to get involved.鈥�

Housing of all types is a big priority. The government has five policies for different income ranges, from middle class families and high-income earners to those in poverty. On average, the UK has 2.29 people per household. Colombia has 3.72 people per household. Its government wants to help everyone get on the property ladder.

Opportunities nationwide

Bogot谩 isn鈥檛 the only Colombian city building skywards. The hill-town of Medell铆n - infamous as the former base of cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar鈥檚 violent drug empire, now mercifully consigned to Colombia鈥檚 past - is a similar story. And in the tourist city of Cartagena, within walking distance of its picturesque old-town of colonial buildings, lies Bocagrande - an area dubbed 鈥淢ini Miami鈥� due to its plethora of skyscrapers overlooking the Caribbean coast. It鈥檚 typical of modern day Colombia, a nation with a growing middle class trying to give its people better housing and better access to jobs, facilitated by ever-improving transport links.

But it鈥檚 not there yet. That鈥檚 why Mauricio Uribe Gonzalez, director of Bogot谩鈥檚 Institute for Patrimonial Culture - which is part of the Ministry of Culture and aims to retrofit historic buildings across the city - believes opportunities for British firms are 鈥渋mmense鈥�.

鈥淐olombia has so many opportunities for development, for industry, for foreign investment. Therefore it has a lot of opportunities for construction. The scope for work not just in Bogot谩, but in Colombia as a whole, is immense,鈥� he says.

It also means the country needs more skills and more workers to help it grow. Gonzalez adds: 鈥淐olombia is changing. We need a lot of professions, and a lot of professionals.鈥�

New projects are happening here all the time. At the institute, Gonzalez is working on a plan to give old buildings in Bogot谩 a facelift. Juan Manuel Santos, his country鈥檚 president, is working on a plan to give the whole country a facelift. Netflix鈥檚 Narcos this isn鈥檛. But is it, to coin a gringo phrase, a Land of Opportunity? It seems ever more so.